N.O.R.E

N.O.R.E Basic Information

Stage Name:	N.O.R.E/ Noreaga/ Superthug
Real Name:	Victor James Santiago, Jr.
Occupation:	Rapper, Actor, Producer and Broadcaster
Date Of Birth/Age:	6 September 1977 (46 Years Old)
Place of Birth:	New York
Gender:	Male
Nationality:	American
Marital Status:	Married
Education:	–
Height:	5Ft 10In
Net Worth:	$6M

N.O.R.E Biography

On September 6, 1976, N.O.R.E. was born in New York, New York, USA. With fellow Queens-based rapper Capone, Santiago first gained notoriety as one-half of the East Coast hip-hop duo Capone-N-Noreaga (C-N-N). With the singles “Superthug,” “Banned from T.V.” (featuring Big Pun, Nature, Cam’ron, Jadakiss, and Styles P), “Nothin'” (featuring Pharrell), and “Oye Mi Canto,” he would also find success as a solo artist.

Penalty, Roc-La-Familia, Def Jam, and Babygrande Records are just a few record labels Santiago has released music under. It was revealed in June 2011 that Santiago had joined forces with Busta Rhymes’ Conglomerate label to release his 2013 album Student of the Game, distributed by E1 Music. Additionally, Santiago is the CEO of his record label, Militainment Business.

Alongside DJ EFN, Santiago co-hosts the podcast and talk show Drink Champs, featuring celebrity interviews. The program won “Best Hip Hop Platform” at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards and has been dubbed “The Premier Hip Hop Interview Show.”

Family

Parents

Santiago was born to a Puerto Rican father and an African American mother. His father, Victor Mambo Santiago, was a boxer. On July 3, 1998, he passed away. A heart attack claimed his life.

Siblings

There is no detailed information about his siblings

Children

N.O.R.E. is a private person who keeps family away from the media.

Wife

N.O.R.E. and his wife, Neri Santiago, who have been married since 2009, claim that balance is the secret to their harmonious union.

Lifestyle

As part of the duo Capone-N-Noreaga with friend and fellow Queens-based rapper Capone, whom he met while serving time in prison, Santiago’s career started to take off in 1995. He went by the stage names Noreaga (after Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega) or N.O.R.E. As a child, Santiago hung out in the Queensbridge Houses close to Al Capone’s LeFrak City mansion. Their first album, “The War Report,” was released in 1997 after they signed with Penalty Recordings in 1996. Hip-hop audiences became familiar with the duo due to the commercial and critical success of “The War Report.”

The use of the “traditional grimy boom-bap” sound of vintage New York City hip hop, which was then fading away in favour of a more futuristic sound, was lauded for the album. The singles “Illegal Life,” “Closer,” and “T.O.N.Y. (Top of New York)” all made the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks chart while the album peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200.

After the album was released, Capone was given a new prison term, allowing Noreaga to pursue a solo career and release an album himself. N.O.R.E., Noreaga’s first studio album as a solo artist, was released in 1998. The backronym “Niggaz on the Run Eatin'” was used in the title, an abbreviation of the artist’s name. Even more popular than the duo’s debut, the album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and was given a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Nas, Kool G Rap, Big Pun, and Busta Rhymes, four other NYC rappers, make guest appearances on the album. In many instances, it also employs a different production approach than The War Report, such as the contemporary, futuristic sound, with tracks created by The Neptunes and Swizz Beatz, then rising stars in the music industry. The hit song “Superthug,” produced by the Neptunes, peaked at number one on the Hot Rap Tracks chart and at position 36 on the Billboard Hot 100. One of Neptune’s first significant productions was the song featuring Mase’s hit “Lookin’ At Me.”

“Melvin Flynt: Da Hustler,” Noreaga’s second solo album, was moderately successful, peaking at number 10 on the Billboard 200 and receiving a gold certification from the RIAA in 1999. The album’s most popular single was the Neptunes’ “Oh No,” which peaked at No. 49 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks chart. In 1999, Capone was allowed to leave prison. In 2000, the two resumed co-writing and co-recording music and issued their second C-N-N album. The duo’s debut album and Noreaga’s solo releases were more commercially successful than “The Reunion”‘s album with the working title. After that, the group would take a break and not release a new album until 2009.

As a solo artist, Noreaga continued to pursue his goals. After some delays, he finally switched to N.O.R.E as his stage name. “God’s Favorite,” his third studio album, was made available in 2002. On the Billboard 200, the album peaked at No. 3 and was later given a platinum certification. It featured The Neptunes’ major hit “Nothin’,” which peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. It became N.O.R.E.’s most successful single.

After “God’s Favorite,” N.O.R.E. switched his musical emphasis. He started making reggaeton music rather than conventional hip-hop to reflect his Puerto Rican heritage. Reggaeton’s single “Oye Mi Canto,” released in 2004 and peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, was a huge success. The album “1 Fan A Day,” which was to have contained the song as its lead single, was never made available. Instead, in 2006, N.O.R.E. issued the reggaeton/hip-hop album “N.O.R.E. y la Familia.” The lead singles were “Ya T Sabe”, “Oye Mi Canto”, and “Mas Maiz.” The album has English and Spanish tracks and was released by Jay-Roc-La-Familia Z’s label. As it only made it as high as #82 on the Billboard 200, it did not perform nearly as well on the charts as any of N.O.R.E. Additionally, he can be played in the video games Def Jam Vendetta and Def Jam Fight for New York.

Later, N.O.R.E. released two more albums on his own. His fifth studio album, “Noreality,” released in 2007, was preceded by the single “Set It Off,” which Swizz Beatz produced and contributed vocals to. As part of a collaboration with Babygrande Records and his Thugged Out Militainment label, N.O.R.E. released his CD/DVD, “Noreality,” in September. Jadakiss, Three 6 Mafia, Kanye West, Pharrell, Mobb Deep’s Prodigy, Bun B, Tru Life, David Banner, Kurupt, and Capone all make cameo appearances on the album. It includes Swizz Beatz as a producer. The rapper’s life is the subject of the DVD, which is only available in a few copies.

In 2009, the supposed second album, “S.O.R.E.”, was released amid controversy. S.O.R.E. would be denounced by N.O.R.E., who urged fans not to buy it and called it an album he had nothing to do with. The album is a nod to his stage name and debut album, “Niggaz on (the) Run Eatin’,” which served as a backronym for “Still on (the) Run Eatin’.” The phrase was first used in late 2007 when Lil Wayne and N.O.R.E. released the song “Still on the Run Eatin’.” N.O.R.E. expressed his disapproval of this album in a video blog.

He added that he had lost 62 pounds since the album’s cover art, which showed him 310 pounds. Additionally, he mentioned that only five of the album’s songs were submitted, with the remaining songs being downloaded from the internet, some of which were from 2007 and likely resulted from the label’s financial difficulties. Later, he revealed that he was working on the album “Student of the Game,” which was later renamed “N.O.R.E. Pt. 2: Born Again.”

N.O.R.E. and Capone once more worked together to create their third studio album, “Channel 10,” which peaked at #136 on the Billboard 200 charts in 2009. “The War Report 2,” Capone-N-Noreaga’s fourth album, was released in 2010. The album’s lead track, “Hood Pride,” featured Faith Evans. Busta Rhymes, a fellow American rapper with whom N.O.R.E. has frequently collaborated, announced on his Twitter account in June 2011 that he had officially signed N.O.R.E. to his recently established record label, Conglomerate Records.

N.O.R.E. was detained on February 24, 2009, at a Fatburger restaurant in Miami Beach, Florida, following an altercation with a customer. N.O.R.E. collaborated with DJ EFN to host the Sirius XM satellite radio program Militainment Crazy Raw Radio from 2009 to 2011. This title gave equal weight to 66 Raw, the Sirius XM channel that broadcasts the show, EFN’s Crazy Hood, and N.O.R.E.’s Militainment brand.

Santiago announced at the beginning of 2013 that he would change his stage name again to P.A.P.I. (Acronym for Power Always Proves Intelligence), which elicited conflicting reactions from his followers. He released “Student of the Game” on April 16, 2013, and shortly after that revealed that his upcoming album would be a sequel as he reverted to his known persona as Noreaga.

On September 27, 2013, he announced to MTV that his upcoming album, “Melvin Flynt II: Da Final Hustle,” would be his last. To concentrate on being a music executive and CEO, he declared he would stop touring and releasing solo albums. Santiago tweeted, “New and last album in July!!!” and then asked, “Melvin Flynt 2? Or N.O.R.E. 2?” on October 30, 2015. Revolt has been airing the show since November 2016. His acting and producing credits include I Spy (2002), About a Boy (2002), and Mean Girls (2004).

In March 2016, N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN got back together to start hosting the podcast “Drink Champs.” In most episodes, famous hip-hop performers appear as guests, sharing updates and stories while drinking. The podcast receives more than five million monthly listens. The podcast and talk show Drink Champs, which features celebrity interviews, is co-hosted by Santiago and DJ EFN. Known as “The Premier Hip Hop Interview Show,” the program was named “Best Hip Hop Platform” at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards.

Net Worth

He has an estimated net worth of over $6 million.

Cars

The collection of N.O.R.E. includes a sizable number of automobiles. He loves cars and enjoys driving all of his expensive and opulent vehicles. He drives a Mercedes, a Ford, a Toyota, and a Subaru.

House

He lives in Queens, New York, where he works and owns a beautiful home.

Nationality

He self-identifies as American and is half Puerto Rican and half African American (Boriqua).